The journey begins
The year is 2007, the day? March 14th, a chilly Wednesday morning, and I am in the waiting room of the maternity wing at Kenyatta National Hospital. ‘Was it this cold when I woke up, or is it all in my mind?’ I think to myself. I can see my brother and my sister’s husband in some controlled state of panic, probably to keep me at bay, who knows! The room is rather dull. The cream walls look tired probably from the many people it has held over time. The large slide windows open, letting the faded blue curtains to be blown by the wind. I hear a sharp cry in the distance of a lady suffering her last pains before the joy of motherhood, and this brings me back to reality. But before I go any further, let me take you back to the beginning…
I was preparing to do my Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) when I learnt I was going to be an aunt. It was a rather exciting moment-now that I LOVE kids. After my exams, I moved in with my sister, Tracy, and her husband to help the house-actually making it the perfect place for my little friend who was coming round the bend.
She was pretty much going into her third trimester when I moved in, so I had a good solid four months or so to bond with her and the baby. You know when they tell you that pregnant ladies have mood swings? Well, you never know just how much until you actually move in with one. My sister and I probably had more arguments then than the rest of our lives put together. It was also then when we developed some interesting bond.
Tracy, went through so many changes I could hardly blame her for the mood swings. I was sure that the baby was going to be one big and healthy boy because Tracy had added quite some weight. The amazing thing is that, she looked more beautiful than I had ever seen her. Her skin got so smooth and her tone so even, I was jealous. And don’t get me started on the hair, it grew so long and silky one of her old time friends met her in town and told her, ‘That weave is amazing, where did you buy it?’ I know, amazing isn’t it?
The last three months, I learnt more about babies and pregnancy than any Biology class could ever teach. I discovered that a full pregnancy cycle is actually 40 weeks and not 36 weeks, meaning that the human gestation period is actually ten months and not nine as commonly put. Another amazing fact is that, when you put a warm object on one end of the mother’s belly or switch off all the lights and direct a torch’s light on one side of the belly, the foetus moves to that end of the belly. This is because the baby is attracted to the warmth and the light.
Well, time flew by and here we are all waiting for the mother to come back from surgery. My long awaited friend is already here, sleeping peacefully in the nursery. To my surprise it is a little little girl, much lighter than we had all expected, but very beautiful all the same. I had never really met a new born baby. Ondiso for us, named after her paternal grandmother.
She has quite a bit of hair on her head. My cousin’s explanation to that is Tracy’s heartburn during the pregnancy-something she gets from Luhyia belief, caused the baby’s hair to grow. Ondiso’s skin tone is much lighter than either one of her parents and she has little white freckles on her pretty nose. And when she gently flips her eyelids open we meet big, black and beautiful eyes-like her mother’s. She has her father’s lips. It is really tough figuring out just who exactly she looks like.
Her father, Isaac, is obviously exuding anxious pride. He holds her with the rarest tender loving care. The always well groomed averagely tall gentleman, wrapped in a caramel complexion that is also evident on his ever clean-shaven head is finally a father. I have never seen him so apprehensive. Now I see that such moments bring out people’s special characteristics. He was definitely ready to give her the warmth and affection she needed.
The sound of someone being rolled into the ward interrupted my thoughts. Yes, it is Tracy. She seems to be in a lot of pain but conscious. We follow to her ward and after they lay her on her bed and give her some pain killers, we are allowed in to see her. The nurses must have removed the extensions from her hair I think; she definitely had them in the morning! Well, she still looks pretty lying in the faded blue hospital gown between white sheets. Her ward has many other new mothers. Just what she wanted; company when we were not there, and some douses of mothering tricks from those who had ‘been there’. The room is much warmer than where we were before,probably because of the babies. The large windows are closed shut but there is air-conditioning to keep the air fresh and flowing in the room which is clean and smelling of antiseptic.
She cannot wait to see and hold baby Ondiso. In a few minutes, she has her wish; her sweet little girl is in her arms. ‘Zuri, that’s her name: she says smiling. It is a Swahili word meaning nice and beautiful. And she truly is. Zuri Ondiso’s presence lifts the spirit in the room two-fold. Everyone is smiling, hardly removing their eyes from the precious jewel that she is. What joy she has brought into our lives. What responsibilities she has brought to me. All of which I am to discover in just a few minutes …
END: BL 31 / 24-25